The Birthday he Drew
by Prongs.xo
Summary: In all the stress of training for her next contest in Ecruteak City, Johto, May forgot about her birthday. So had her friends, it seems. A later happy surprise is ruined by Drew and his mixed signals. Major contestshipping! Complete!
1. Princess of Nothing

_**I do not own anything to do with Pokemon.  
**__The only thing I only in this story is the character Meena._

_This is my first contestship. I hope you like it :)_

* * *

"Venusaur, use frenzy plant!"

The earth shook and rumbled beneath the feet of pokemon co-ordinator May. She wiped the sweat off her forehead as she took a deep breath and called out once more to her pokemon. "Come on, you can do it! Just a little farther!"

The roots that sprouted from the ground as a result of May's Venusaur's frenzy plant attack peeked up from the earth, and then sunk back in. May groaned. This was a move that she had been trying to teach Venusaur for almost two weeks now. It was easy to tell that all of her hard work hadn't paid off quite yet.

"Saur, venusaur!" Venusaur noticed how stressed and disappointed its trainer looked, and held down its head in shame.

"Aw, no Venusaur, it's okay," May smiled. "You've been working yourself really hard, and I'm proud of you. It's time you get a good long rest." She called it back to its pokeball, and put it in her pokeball pouch. _Well, so much for having that move down for the Ecruteak pokemon contest_, thought May. _The contest is in a week, and I haven't even got a combination yet! _

She sat down on a large rock and put her head in her arms. _Princess of Hoenn, my butt! I can't even teach my pokemon a new move!_

She decided that maybe it was too early in the morning to start training. After all, they had spent hours on frenzy plant the previous night, so they barely got any rest. May had thought that it was a good idea to get up at the crack of dawn to start training. She was trying to develop new training habits, but so far, this one hasn't been working out.

Speaking of dawn… Ever since her lost to Dawn, Ash and Brock's new traveling companion, in the Wallace Cup, she had been training vigorously_. If I can lose to a beginner coordinator like Dawn_, she had thought, _I can definitely lose to every trainer at the grand festival!_ She knew she was being bitter about it, but she only got like this when she wasn't in a good mood to start with. She really liked Dawn, and saw and appreciated how much talent the Sinnoh girl has, but no one said losing was easy.

Normally May was sweet about everything and wouldn't brood on the bad, but there were many things contributing to her recent bad mood. First of all, she hadn't heard from her family in weeks. She hadn't realized how much she missed her family while being away, especially Max. If she didn't hear their reassuring words and voices regularly, she got unmotivated. She loved her family with all her heart and being away from them felt like she was away from a part of herself, too.  
Secondly, Drew. Drew, Drew, Drew. What was going on with that boy? He could be so strange sometimes. For example, he beat her at the last contest they participated in together. After it was done, he came up to her and told her he was sorry, even though she wasn't at all that upset. He gave her one of his signature Drew roses, but then started to act like a total jerk! She had no idea what was going on in his mind. All the mixed signals from him were becoming hard to bear. And lastly, she found out Ecruteak City's world famous Pancake Cafe had recently closed. Right when she was craving pancakes, too!

May was just losing herself in thoughts of squirting delicious maple syrup over pancakes piled high with whip cream, razz berries, belue berries, oran berries and pecha berries when a voice interrupted her thoughts.

"What's got the princess so down?"

May whirled around to see Meena, her new friend from Cherrygrove, here in Johto. She had long purple hair, which she pulled into her two signature pigtails, tied with yellow ribbons. She had dark violet eyes, a nice smile, and a sometimes sarcastic attitude. If you weren't in a bad mood, she was really quite fun to be around. Unfortunately, at the moment, May's mood was on the opposite end of earth as 'good'. Besides her smart and sarcastic nature, Meena was a great friend. In her Meena had found a great traveling companion.

"Will everyone just PLEASE stop calling me that?!"

"Jeez May, calm down." Meena plopped herself on the grass beside May. "You know I only say that because I know it bugs you."

"Mmm."

"Anyway, what's got you spouting flamethrowers left right and center so early in the morning? Someone ice beam your cereal?"

"No, and nothing." May turned away to hide how upset she really was.

"Aw come on, lighten up!" Meena slung her arm around May's shoulders. That was a good thing about Meena. If you didn't want to talk about something, she wouldn't press on for ten years like some people do. She'd respect the fact that you didn't want to talk about whatever it was the moment. "You know what day it is?" Meena pressed.

May's heart skipped a beat. _Of course_, she thought. _How on earth could I forget? It's sad that my friend had to remind me…_

"Every year on this day, Ecruteak city's Pokemon Center holds a pokemon coordinating history festival. It's kind of like an exhibit, almost, where they have statues of the most famous coordinating pokemon, and sometimes you get to meet famous coordinators too! Also, Nurse Joy gives everyone…"

May's heart sunk deeper than the Hoenn's ocean. She barely heard what Meena was going on about. _Well, this is just great_, she thought. _Not even my friend remembers_!

May slapped herself mentally for being pouty, but she knew this was the one day a year that a kid _can_ be pouty:

Today was May's Birthday.

In all her stress and work training for the contest, she completely forgot that her birthday was coming up. Only when Meena asked if May knew what day it was did she remember. She thought Meena was going to remind her, and maybe ask if she'd like to go out for some noodles to celebrate, at the very least. But no, she had to go on about the stupid pokemon statue history festival, or whatever the heck was she was talking about.

"May? Did you hear me?"

May looked up to see Meena peering, concerned, at her face.

"Um, yeah, I did." May forced a smile on her face, though it probably came out as a grimace.

"So? Do you wanna go or are you going to pout about Arceus knows what all day?"

May sighed. There was no point in telling her it was her birthday. If she did, Meena would start to fuss about how she had forgotten and then make a huge deal out of it. That was the last thing May needed at the moment.

"Actually, Meena, I really need to work on training my Venusaur more before the next contest," May said. _It's true_, she thought. _Anyway, I'd rather spend my 'special' day with my pokemon_, May thought to herself. _Maybe I'll call dad and get him to send over Beautifly and Skitty to be with me too_…

"Aw, May, you _have_ to come!"

"But-"

"You have all morning to train. This event is at 7:00 anyway."

"But I-"

"Fine, then I'll just go alone." Meena said sarcastically as she rolled her eyes.

"Aw, no, Meena, you could-"

"Then just COME!"

"You don't g-"

"It's not an offer. You're coming."

"Seriousl-"

"It's obligatory!"

"Obv-"

"There will be food!"

Silence.

Meena continued. "Fresh watmel berries, Iapapa pie, pancakes-"

"Pancakes?"

"Pancakes."

May sighed. It couldn't hurt, even if they aren't as good as the Pancake Café's. "Alright, alright, I'll come." If she couldn't have her happy day, she might as well make someone else happy.

"Yay! Thanks May, you're a pal. Meet me at the Pokemart at 6:30. You might want to shower. Bye!" Meena danced off down the path without a backwards glance.

"Wait, Meena!"

But she had already disappeared down the hills.


	2. Expect the Unexpected

May stood at the entrance of the pokemart, looking around for Meena apprehensively. She ran her fingers through her still-damp hair, wondering what the night still had in store for her on her 13th 'special' day. She laughed bitterly. _Lighten up_, she told herself. _This could be fun, you never know. Maybe Drew will be there…_

But would that be a good thing? She didn't know,

May wanted to see Drew so badly and tell him how she felt, but at the same time she wanted to run, fast, in the opposite direction of him. _Why do I have to feel so confused all the time?_ She thought. _Why does he have to be so confusing? Why does no one seem to care about me lately? Why am I being so moody? Why can't Venusaur learn that one move? Why-_

"Why is your hair wet?"

Meena stood before her, wearing a pretty gold dress with purple shoes that set of her hair and eyes beautifully. Her hair was down out of her usual pigtails, sleek and voluptuous. May never noticed how pretty she really was.

"I showered, like you told me to," May replied as she looked over Meena's outfit.

"Yeah, but I meant you do that earlier in the morning. Oh whatever, we still have time." Meena grabbed May's arm and dragged her into the pokemart.

"Time for what?"

"To get you fixed up."

"Is this a fancy occasion? You look nice, by the way."

"Thanks," Meena replied with a smile. "And yes, it is."

May found herself being steered into the pokemart's one room bathroom. For a one roomed store bathroom, it was pretty clean. There was a decently sanitary toilet in the far right corner and a rather large counter with a sink on the left. Meena closed the door and locked it behind her.

"Time to get to work." Meena was holding up a red blowdryer.

"Oh brother." May said but she smiled anyway. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she secretly loved getting her hair done and getting all girlied up.

Her hair only took a few minutes to get completely dry, as her hair was only damp. Next, Meena plugged in a set a curling iron on the counter.

When the girls were done, May stood in front of the mirror to admire her new look. Her hair was curled in gorgeous, silky ringlets. Instead of being parted to the front like it usually was, it was set down along her back, giving her a more feminine and soft look. She turned to the right and left, finally turning completely around and looking over her shoulder to see it from the back.

"I like it!"

"Glad you do!" Meena was once again ruffling through her bag. "Time for some makeup."

"Oh… well… I don't usually wear any."

"Even better."  
"Okay…? Well as long as you keep it light."

"Will do."

Meena dusted a sparkly, light periwinkle blue on her lids. It wasn't too much, and actually set off her eyes quite nicely. Next came the mascara, which made May's eyelashes so long, she didn't even believe it. Finally, to finish it off, there was a light dab of pink blush added to the temples of her cheeks.

"Oh, forgot one thing." Meena lifted a small tube out of her pocket.

"Please don't let that be lipstick. I look like a tranny with it."

"Nah, this stuff is more like a lipbalmy lipgloss. It's not too shiny and doesn't have any colour," Meena said.

"Pretty," May observed as she looked over the final effect after Meena applied it to her lips.

"Oh, but I'm not done yet," smirked Meena.

"Meena, what are you up to now?" May asked exasperatedly, but she knew what was coming.

"Well why would I give you eyeshadow that doesn't match your outfit?" Meena said as May looked down at her orange and green Johto traveling outfit.

"Hmm, let me think," May looked up, smiling slightly sarcastically.

Meena pulled a light, flowy dress, the exact same shade as the periwinkle blue eyeshadow, out from behind her back.

May was astonished. "It's beautiful!" she exclaimed.

"I knew you'd like it," Meena smiled back at May. "Here, it comes with one of those head things.' Meena pulled out a long silky head piece, like the one May wore with her outfit competing in the Wallace cup. This time, it was the same colour as the dress, with a gold oval in the middle.

"Wow," May giggled as she put on the outfit. "Why are we so dressed up?"

"Like I said," Meena was brushing her own hair, sending it sleekly down her back. "It's quite a formal event. Here." Meena sprayed May with a lovely rose scented perfume.

May coughed. "Meena, no!" But she giggled despite herself. It was quite a nice smell, the more the thought about it.

"This one's a winner with the boys," smirked Meena as she packed up her bag.

"I don't need any boys," May blushed, turned way from Meena and headed towards the bathroom door.

"I think you do. And I know you have on in mind."

May acted like she hadn't heard her and continued out of the mart.

It was true though. Of course she had someone in mind. But she really didn't know _why_ she couldn't stop thinking about Drew, especially after how he had been acting lately. On a good day, he was charming, flipping his green hair out of his eyes and smiling that Drew smile. But on other days, he had ignored her and said snide comments that really were really quite mean. Maybe she was over analyzing everything.

"Are you ready?" Meena had caught up with her outside.

"Sure am," May smiled. _This is beginning to get fun_, she thought. _Hopefully it'll stay that way…_

"Come on out, Xatu, Noctowl!" Meena's two flying types appeared out of their pokeballs. "Here, fly on Noctowl, and I'll go on Xatu."

The two girls soared in the air over to the pokemon center. Even though it was quite pointless, considering the pokemon center wasn't even a mile away, May thought it made an impressive entrance. Besides, it was already past 7:00, and Meena didn't want them to be any later than they were.

The sun was setting beautifully towards the west, casting floral pinks, creamy oranges and lavender colours into the sky. The air only had a faint breeze to it, but it was warm and caressed May's skin softly. It was becoming a beautiful night.

The girls landed on the pavement outside of the center and Meena called her pokemon back into their balls. They entered, said hi to Nurse Joy, and went down a hallway to the left.

"It's being held in a hall in the back," explained Meena.

"Alright."

They halted at a set of two large, mahogany doors. Meena looked to May. "Are you ready?"

"For what?" May asked. "It's just an exhibit."

"Are you sure about that?"

May looked confusedly at her friend. "Huh?"

The girls opened the doors slowly and May's heart skipped a beat when a crowd of people jumped up and yelled, "SURPRISE!"

May couldn't sop smiling. Ash came up to her and said, "Happy Birthday, May!"

"Ash, hi! You remembered?" May was in utter shock.

"How could we not?" He grinned largely and gave her a quick hug. May returned it happily and turned greatfully to Meena.

"Of course we didn't forget, you dimbo!" Meena hugged May and the girls jumped around excitedly.

May peered around and saw tons of familiar faces. Along with Ash, there was Brock, Dawn, Solidad, her mother, her father Norman, her brother Max, who came running into her arms, some of her old school friends, her new friends, and even, to her discontent, Harley.

But there was one very important person missing.


	3. Drew Blues

"So you guys traveled all the way from Sinnoh just to celebrate my birthday?" May was sitting down at one of the many tables set up along the room with Ash, Brock and Dawn, with Pikachu in her lap. Music was playing in the background and as everyone chatted amongst themselves and examined the rather large pile of gifts that sat on a table for May.

"Yeah!" Ash himself was sporting a tux. "Plus, Dawn wanted to check out the contest scene, while I wanted to see if there was a battle frontier."

"We were thinking of traveling here after Ash competes in the Sinnoh League and Dawn the Sinnoh Grand Festival," Brock explained, his head turning this way and that, looking for girls, May assumed. "Solidad," he mouthed, as his eyes went wide. "Excuse me," he sad to the two girls and Ash, and ran away yelling, "SOLIDAD!!"

May and Dawn looked at each other and started laughing.

"You know," Dawn began after their laughter faded, "I'm really liking Johto. I'm excited to come and actually travel here! It's so different from Sinnoh, where I grew up."

"You won't be disappointed. The people here are great!" May replied. "It's quite a lot more competitive I find, compare to Hoenn."

The two girls continued chattering along about coordination, with Ash pitching in here and there. May suddenly realized that some of her most important friends were missing from the party: her pokemon!

"Glaceon, Venusaur, Munchlax, Wartortle, Blaziken, take the stage!"

"Good idea," said Ash as he reached for his pokeballs.

"Chimchar, Grotle, Glisgor, Buizel, Staravia, come on out!" he called as Dawn said, "Piplup, Pachirisu, Buneary, Ambipom, Mamoswine, join the party!"

"Wow Ash, you're pokemon look great!" commented May as she scratched Pikachu behind the ears and pat Glaceon. "You too, Dawn, I-"

All of a sudden May was cut off as she found herself flying through the air.

"MAMOSWINE, NO!" Dawn yelled as her Mamoswine ran straight for the table filled with pancakes, cakes, noodles and other delicious food.

"Uhg!" Dawn got up and reached for her pokeball. "Mamoswine, return!"

Mamoswine returned to its ball as Dawn panted. "Sorry about that. I still haven't learned to control him, especially around food." She blushed slightly.

May, noticing Dawn's embarrassment, said, "Oh it's okay, don't worry. My Munchlax usually does the same."

"So, what were you saying before that, May?" Ash said

May and Dawn looked at each other and started to laugh.

"Oh well…" May's stomach fluttered. "Have you seen Drew at all?"

Dawn said, "Who's Drew?" while Ash said, "Huh, Drew? No, I haven't, sorry."

May's stomach dropped with disappointment. "Okay." She got up from the table. "I'll be back in a bit, I should say hi to everyone else who came." She smiled at Ash and Dawn and walked around to try and find Meena.

She found her talking to Max by the food, who was saying, "No Munchlax! You can't eat all of the watmel berries!"

"Hey you guys," May said.

"May, do you have any of May's Purple Surprise pokeblocks? Munchlax is trying to eat the whole table!"

"Mmhmm, here." She handed him her pokeblock case and turned to Meena.

"This is amazing. Thanks so much!"

"No problem!"

May hesitated. "Umm, just asking, did you invite Drew?"

"Drew? Yeah, of course I did." Meena furrowed her brows. "I don't know why he's not here though. Maybe he's late on purpose. Wants to make an impressive entrance or something." She mused, rolling her eyes.

"Hm, yeah, maybe."

May's stomach rumbled unsettlingly. Why wouldn't he show up to he birthday party? They were, after all, good friends, even if they were rivals. Maybe he's going to surprise her with something! No, that can't be it… Maybe he didn't get the invitation. Maybe his pokemon got hurt or something. Yeah, if his pokemon were hurt, he'd always choose that over anything else, he was nice like that. Or maybe… _Oh, I give up_, she thought. _I need to stop making excuses. He's not here. End of story. I'll just have to deal with it. _

"Just forget about it. This is your birthday party, and you're supposed to have fun." Meena watched May anxiously.

"Huh?"

"Don't let a stupid boy ruin your day."

"What are you talking about?" May's palms were sweating.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about." Meena walked over to a table where silver platters stood, lids over top all of them. "I know something that will cheer you up."

"Oh yeah?" May stared at the platters curiously.

"Well… You know how the Pancake Café closed? We found the main chef and asked him to make pancakes for your party." Meena smiled as May's eyes went wide. "You see, it turns out he's a huge pokemon coordinating junkie, and is a huge fan of yours. He made them free, just for you!"

"You're joking!" May couldn't believe it.

"I speak only the truth!" Meena whipped off the lids.

And there they stood: Scrumptious, delicious, mouth watering pancakes, covered in the sweetest and most fresh berries imaginable, topped with whip cream and maple syrup. It drove everything else completely out May's mind.

"Enjoy!" Meena shoved a plate under May's nose and she got down to business.

When she put the fork in her mouth, it was like an explosion took place. Never before had she tasted something so delicious. It was as if her taste buds were being hyperbeamed. Her senses were on fire, her heart was racing, and her eyes were watering along with her mouth. Tears of delight ran down her face as she sobbed into her arm. The extravagant taste was just too much to bear.

Okay, okay, that's not _exactly_ what had happened, but being May, that's practically how she felt.

Five pancakes, three glasses of water and a pecha berry muffin later, he still wasn't there.

* * * * *

You would have thought that with a stomach full of some of her favorite food, May's mind would be far from worrying. But it was the opposite. Her stomach groaned with the weight of all the food she had consumed and the butterfrees that danced around inside it. Yes, she was enjoying the party immensely, but being a teenager (wow_, I'm a teenager now_, she thought), she couldn't help but brood on the worst.

She was talking to Solidad when she realized she had forgotten to ask Dawn something. She excused herself and walked over to where Dawn was chatting with Harvey, looking slightly weirded out. May's Wartortle rushed past her, almost knocking her over, being chased by Ash's Buizel. The other pokemon ran around her play fighting with each other. That's when she saw a familiar Flygon swooping around with Ash's Glisgor and Staravia.

"Drew…" she whispered.

Her head spun around until she spotted him talking with Max and Ash by the stereo. She ran over, breathless. "Hey, Drew!"

"Oh, hey May. What's up?" He was so adorable. She couldn't help but stare.

"Well, it's my birthday!" Jeez, what a stupid thing to say, she thought.

He thought so too, apparently. "I think I figured that out for myself." But his eyes twinkled.

She smiled, but then it drooped off her face. "Why were you so late? The party is almost halfway over."

"Things to do, place to be." He said importantly as he looked around the room. Ash and Max had left to go sample some iapapa pie.

"May…" Drew began.

"Yes?"

"Happy Birthday." He smiled at her with warmth in his eyes. He heart fluttered and she felt herself going red as he pulled a rose from behind his back.

"Drew, I…"

"This is for you."

"I… Drew… Thank you." May smiled, at a loss for words.

"I didn't know what do get you."

"So you got me a rose?" She asked skeptically.

"Well yeah… that too."

They just stared at each other.

"Well, I have to be on my way. I'll see you around, May." Drew turned away abruptly and called to his Flygon. They went out of the room and into the hall.

"Drew, wait!" What was up with him, coming in for two minutes to say happy birthday, then going all cold and leaving like that? She raced down the hall and out the front doors in time to see him flying away on his Flygon. "Drew!"

The sun set below the hills, and the sky clouded over, leaving a chilly breeze and an unhappy and bewildered May in its wake.


	4. Pancakes and Heartaches

The party went on with May faking a smile to everyone she talked to. Everyone seemed so happy that she didn't want to ruin their mood. Parties were to have a good time. May wanted to make sure that everyone else remained happy. If she couldn't be happy, the least she could do was keep others happy.

But Drew…

What was going on with him? The rose was sweet and signature Drew, but he did that so commonly that it didn't seem such a big deal anymore. Did he not care about her anymore? Why was he playing mind games with her? For his own enjoyment, or was there some kind of logic all behind it?

May came out of the bathroom and sat down at a table alone. Her Blaziken, sensing her depression, came over to her and sat in a chair beside her. It was funny to see him in a chair, since he was human shaped and burning fire on every inch of him.

"Blaze, Blaziken?"

"I'm okay, thanks." She smiled at her first pokemon and turned away.

"Blaziken."

"Glace glace, glaceon?"

It seemed as though her Glaceon had joined her pity party.

"I'm fine guys. Why don't you go play with everyone else?" she smiled. "There's no need to be upset because I am." She added as Glaceon's head drooped.

Glaceon trotted away but looked back worriedly. Blaziken remained where he was.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, when Blaziken got up and grabbed her arm. "Blaze blaze."

"Sure, I guess."

Pokemon and trainer went out of the room_. Hopefully no one will notice_, she thought to herself. _Though they probably will, considering the party is revolved around me. Oh well._

She was almost out the front doors when she heard a voice behind her. "May, where are you going? Is everything alright?"

She turned around. It was Nurse Joy standing with her Chansey, looking concerned.

"Yes, I'm fine, thanks." She smiled. "I'm just going for a walk with Blaziken. I need some fresh air." She opened the door and added over her shoulder, "Ate too many pancakes."

The fresh air instantly calmed May. She took some deep breaths, and walked along the trail at the back of the center, leading into the woods, and beyond that, a field.

"You know Blaziken… I'm just being dramatic. There's no need worry." She was starting to sound like Dawn now. She almost wished she_ had_ the courage that Dawn had when she said that.

Her Blaziken remained silent.

"Though I wish I knew why…" She sat down in the field and put her arms around her legs. "I was never like this. Probably from all of the stress. Or maybe I'm homesick. Or maybe… Maybe I'm just being a normal teenager."

May couldn't hold it in. She blanched and started to cry.

"Blaze blaze…"

"I'm just…" she sniffed. "…so sick of it all!" her Blaziken hugged her and she fell into its arms. "I hate feeling this way. I'm just not this kind of person, you know? I feel like I'm not recognizing myself anymore!"

May cried silently for a few more minutes, and then finally she calmed down. She wiped her eyes and noticed no makeup came off. Probably waterproof, she thought. Meena probably knew I'd cry. She always knows everything… Why can't I know everything? May's tears returned in the form of tears of frustration. Stop acting like a baby! She slapped herself mentally. Grow up!

"I also feel like I'm not recognizing my friends anymore." Though she said 'friends', she only meant 'friend', as in, Drew.

"Blaziken!"

"I don't mean you. I'm sorry. I'm only talking about… Drew." There. She had said it aloud.

In response to May's mixed emotions, Blaziken's wrist fire burned brighter and stronger. "No need to get all worked up." May smiled, and it was a real smile, this time. "Thanks Blaziken. You're the best."

Blaziken brought its fire close to May's face to dry her tears. She laughed and together they walked back to the party on a trail of moonlight.

* * * * *

Guess who May saw as soon as she walked back into her party? His name starts with a 'D' and rhymes with 'poo'.

Drew, of course.

Slightly shocked, she walked up to where he was standing, talking to Dawn and Ash.

"…course. And Dawn, you were great. Solidad, Harvey and I all watched it together. You have so much talent, and you really _deserved_ to win." Drew was saying.

Dawn looked surprised but smiled. "Thanks, Drew! I've seen some of your contests, and judging from that and what I've heard about you from Ash, Brock and May, you're a great coordinator as well."

"Thanks. I hope we can compete sometime together." He flipped his hair.

"That would be super cool!"

"Yeah. It's always fun competing against friends. Stressful, if it's a big thing." He glanced around and saw May heading towards them, listening. "It must have been hard going against May in the finals of the Wallace Cup."

"I was so nervous!" Dawn agreed. "May's practically legendary!" Dawn smiled at May. "But it was fun though."

"Glaceon against Piplup. Nice type matchup. It was pretty even at the _start_ if you ask me."

"Pip piplup!" Piplup added from Dawn's head.

"Ha-ha, I see Piplup disagrees. She's very… arrogant sometimes," she added in a whisper. Piplup glared and bubblebeamed her head. "Hey!" She yelled, laughing.

"Well, I actually think Piplup's right," Drew replied, half glancing at May.

_What's he saying?_ Thought May. _What's going on?_

"What do you mean?" Dawn asked.

"I think you deserved to win. You've got a little something over May. Hey, May, isn't that right?" Drew smirked.

May couldn't say anything.

Dawn looked a little confused. "Err, thanks Drew."

"You've got more drive than May does. I can see it in your combinations and the way you battle." He flipped his hair once again. "Plus you're cooler about it. May freaks out too much; maybe she _would have_ won if she didn't think about everything too much. It was clear halfway through who should have won."

Dawn looked from Drew to May to Drew to May and back to Drew again.

Tears stung behind May's eyes. How dare he insult her, right in front of everyone too!

"Try not to lose your head and you could become as good as me or Dawn." He turned to Dawn. "Well anyway, you've got more talent." He walked away, leaving Dawn and May flabbergasted.

"Uh, what was _that_ all about?" Dawn looked weirdly after Drew.

May couldn't speak. She knew she wasn't really jealous of Dawn, but Drew acted like she was and was rubbing it in! He was also rubbing in the loss that most upset her, secretly. It didn't help one bit.

"May, are you okay?" Dawn was watching May.

"I'm fine…"

"It was nice of him to say that to me, but what he said wasn't true at all. You're way better than me." Dawn looked shyly away.

"No, he's right. I just… I…I… I have to go." May turned away from Dawn and went into the bathroom. Once she was safely inside a stall, she sat down and leaned against the wall, the tears of frustration coming once again.

What was his problem! Insulting her like that! He had a right to his opinion but not to shout it out to everyone so rudely like that. She had no idea he felt that way. It was so mean! Not that she expected him to always favor her, but she was at least expecting him to be on her side, to cheer for her. It had always been that way.

And what was up with him flirting with Dawn like that? Not that it was something that surprised her, as Dawn was beautiful and probably got that a lot. It was the fact that as soon as Drew saw her approaching, he started to flirt with Dawn and insult May. But, people had told May that Drew likes her. _Well if he does, he sure has a funny way of showing it_, thought May bitterly. Why are boys so _dumb_?

May's head was spinning. She looked up to the ceiling and found the walls of the stall turning around her. Suddenly, she leaned over and threw up into the toilet.

_I guess pancakes and a broken heart aren't a good combination_, thought May.


	5. Roses Bloom in May

After brushing her teeth furiously, fixing her hair and plastering a smile on her face, May came out of the bathroom. Her hunch was right when she didn't see Drew anywhere when she scanned the room.

"You were in there for an awfully long time. Are you alright?" Dawn was at the door of the washroom, looking anxious.

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?" May smiled.

"You didn't come out after a few minutes so I got worried."

"To many pancakes," May laughed a foreign laugh that wasn't hers. _What's up with me tonight?_ She though.

"Oh… Okay." Still, Dawn looked doubtful. "I'll be over with Ash and Brock if you need anything." She smiled and walked away.

_She's so sweet_, thought May as she walked towards the doors. _Too bad I don't have time to go and chat._

Technically, she did. But May had something that she knew had to be dealt with if she wanted to enjoy the rest of her night. She exited the hall sneakily, trying and making sure no one saw her.

"May, you keep leaving. What's up?" Meena was in the way of the doors leading to outside.

"Why are you here?" May asked, getting annoyed.

"I should ask you the same question."

May didn't say anything.

"I knew you'd be leaving again so I waited here."

Again, May kept quiet.

"Listen." Meena ran her fingers through her hair. "He's just being a normal boy."

"What?" May blinked.

"Don't pretend that you don't know that I know."

"Er, okay."

"Just talk to him about it. Make him talk normally to you. Sit down and have an actual conversation. Don't start playing games like him."

"I wasn't-"

"I _know_ you were thinking about it. But that's not the right thing to do."

May glared. But somehow Meena knew that that was exactly what May was planning to do. May had decided whilst in the bathroom that if Drew was going to play dirty, then _she _was going to play dirty. She didn't know _exactly_ what she was going to do, but she knew that once she faced him, she'd be able to think of what to say and do.

"May, please just tell me you'll be mature about this." Meena was staring at May expectantly.

May sighed, and then realized she was right. Sinking down to his level wasn't going to make things better, least of all sort them out completely. "Fine, I won't." May looked Meena in the eyes, noticing her doubt. "Honestly."

"Okay, just don't be too long. This is your party you know!" Meena smiled and walked back into the hall.

May felt more determined than ever as she walked out of the center's doors. She wasn't exactly sure where she would find Drew; for all she knew he could have flown to Olivine city, or something. But she was sure of one thing: he had to be close by, as it was probable that he would have slipped back into the party later on if she wasn't on her way to confront him now.

"Munchlax, I need you!" May threw a pokeball into the air, Munchlax appearing once the red light faded. Before she left, May had returned her pokemon back to their balls, as you never knew when you might need them in the world of pokemon. She also knew it wouldn't be safe to wander around on her own at this time of night.

"Munchlax, do you think you could find Drew for me?" May bit her lip. This was her best chance.

Munchlax gave a hearty sniff and took off down the path that May had taken with Blaziken. They walked in the dark for a few minutes, May shivering in spite of herself. The sun had fully set by now, leaving the night chilly and the trees casting spooky shadows along the trail. The light from the buildings in Ecruteak city were disappearing behind the trees and the stars became the primary source of light.

May suddenly noticed Munchlax running a good fifty meters away in front of her, a barely visible shadow. "Hey, Munchlax, wait up!" She yelled as she raced to keep up.

"Munch, Munchlax!"

"Huh?" Came a voice. "Isn't this May's Munchlax?"

May's heart skipped a beat as she spilled out into the same open field her and Blaziken had sat at. Sitting in precisely the same spot were none other than Drew and his Flygon.

Drew looked up at May, his green hair flowing softly with the breeze, his eyes lit up by the starlight. They stared at each other for a long time, May standing there, Drew sitting. Finally, he turned away and said, "Huh, it's May."

May felt tightness in her throat (and her heart). "Yeah."

"It seems your Munchlax has run off again. You need to keep better watch on your pokemon." His face was in the shadows, so May couldn't see the coldness in his eyes. She heard it in his words, though.

"Again? What do you mean, again?" May felt the fire rise inside of her, threatening to boil over. Her frustration was at its peak, and any anymore of this nonsense from Drew could set her off like a firework.

"I mean you're being careless."

May felt her eyes growing wet as her breathing starting to escalate. "Careless?" She said in a dangerous voice. "CARELESS?" She repeated again, yelling this time. "I'll tell you what's _careless_!" May walked over to Drew, who immediately stood up. "You showing up at my _birthday_ party, _late_, which I wouldn't have cared about if you hadn't started insulting me from the moment we spoke! 'Oh here May, here's a rose, I'm being all sweet, blah blah blah,' then, 'Hey May, you have no talent! Everyone's better than you! You suck!' _That_ is CARELESS." May was on an unstoppable rage, tears spilling out from her eyes. "You don't even _care _about me anymore! You just think, hey, I'm bored, so how about I mess with this girl's head! How about I ruin her birthday! It doesn't matter, because I don't _CARE_ about her!" May broke off, her chest heaving, her nails digging into the palms of her hand. She looked down, took some deep breaths, looked up again at Drew's face, and in a quiet voice, said, "It's my birthday…"

Drew just stared at May, his face blank. May didn't know what to make of it. She thought he was either too shocked to speak or else he was honestly, utterly indifferent.

They stood there for a few more unbearable seconds, driving May completely over the edge enough to yell at his face, "SAY SOMETHING, YOU IDIOT!"

Drew broke their gaze by looking away.

_That's it_, she thought. _Time to get serious_.

May wiped out a pokeball and threw it with all her might, yelling, "Venusaur, pummel him!!!"

"What the-" Drew's eyes went wide as he found himself staring into Venusaur's angry looking face. _Well if it's a battle she wants_, he thought, _it's a battle she gets_.

"Flygon, let's go!" Flygon, who was out of its ball, came and stood in between him and Venusaur.

"Venusaur, use Razor Leaf!" May's face was set and determined as she ordered Venusaur, who sent dangerous looking razor leafs toward Flygon.

"Counter it with Dragonbreath!"

Venusaur's Razor Leaves were burnt to crisp by Flygon's Dragonbreath. May growled in frustration. "Vine Whip!"

Flygon dodged it and whipped up a sandstorm, which Venusaur was immediately consumed by. May tried to get Venusaur to try and escape it, but Venusaur, being so heavy, was no match for the speed of the sand storm. Venusaur was weakening by the minute.

"Now, Flygon, strike it with Dragon Claw!"

May knew it was hopeless to try and get Venusaur to dodge it, as it couldn't see in the vicious sandstorm. Sure enough, she heard Flygon hit its target. "Venusaur…" she moaned, thinking hard. _What can I do?_ For some reason, Ash's face came into her mind. _What would Ash do in a situation like this?_ After all, May had traveled with him for a long time; she knew how he thought. He always said, 'A good defense is a good offense'. _So… Maybe I can use an attack to get out of this sandstorm. Hey! I Venusaur can propel itself out by jumping with it's vine whips! No… He's too heavy to do that. Maybe if he were still a Bulbasaur or an Ivysaur_… She bit her lip, becoming more frantic as she heard Flygon's continuous attacks land perfectly. _Solarbeam wouldn't do much in this situation… Maybe Razor Leaf could blow away the sand_!

"Venusaur, try to use Razor Leaf as fast as you can to blow away the storm!"

May's heart lept as she saw a little opening in the storm, but it sunk back down as it quickly closed up again. Luckily, some of the Razor Leaves had hit Flygon.

_Okay, okay, calm down_! May shook herself mentally. _I really should listen to Drew sometimes_, she thought bitterly. _I need to keep my head in check_. Then she thought of it. It was risky, definitely risky, but it was her only shot. Venusaur would be wiped out in a matter of seconds, and she couldn't bear to lose to Drew.

"VENUSAUR, USE FRENZY PLANT! I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT!"

Venusaur seemed to have sensed May's urgency in the situation, because it had produced a miracle. Thick, spiky vines burst forth out from the earth, peaking high up above the cloud of sandstorm. It was absolutely magnificent.

_Did it work?_ Thought May desperately.

"Flygon, get out of there, come on, use Dragon Claw!" Drew was yelling at Flygon.

Suddenly, the sandstorm cleared.

There was Venusaur, in a clearing in the middle of the vines. To the left, Flygon was ensnared in the thick vines, completely wiped out, unable to battle.

"YES!" May cried, jumping up and down. "You did it Venusaur!"

The vines disappeared and Venusaur came barreling over to May, who gave it a big hug. "You were amazing," she whispered. "I couldn't be more proud of you."

She heard the sound of Drew returning Flygon to its pokeball and walked towards him.

She stared at him in utter calmness, waiting.

He looked down and muttered, "Congrats, May. You and Venusaur really pulled through."

"Mhm," she motioned to the ground. "Do you want to sit down?"

"Okay, I guess."

The two coordinators sat on the ground in silence, staring up at the moon. It was almost completely round, just a bit of shadow away from being a full moon. The gentle breeze was warm and smelt of wildflowers and the forest. May kept stealing glances of him out of the corner of her eyes, loving the way his eyes looked so deep as they reflected the moonlight. She was almost certain he was doing the same.

After many minutes, he broke the silence. "It's a beautiful night, isn't it?"

"I was just thinking the same thing." She was also wondering how it was possible to love and hate someone so much at the same time.

"What a coincidence," he joked, smiling.

They went silent for a few seconds.

"Drew, I…" May bit her lip, looking at him.

"No, May, listen." He looked at her dead in the eyes. "I'm sorry. I really am. For… for everything. For beating you at the last contest then making fun of you, for being late tonight, for insulting you tonight, for basically just ruining tonight… ruining your birthday. I'm sorry."

May looked down and nodded. "I accept your apology, but, Drew…" she faltered. "Why?" tears stung behind her eyes for the millionth time. "Why were you being like that? I don't remember doing anything that would make me deserve being treated like that… I mean, I… I just don't understand."

"May, don't…" he looked away, ashamed of her tears. He realized suddenly how many times he must have made her cry before. Sincere regret piled up inside him. "I don't know why I've been acting this way. I mean, I think I know the reason, I just don't know why it came out the way it did. I know why, but I don't… I mean… May, I'm really sorry. I've been such a jerk…" he muttered under his breath.

"Yeah, you kind of have been." May had no idea what he was talking about. He wasn't making much sense to her.

He laughed a little. "It's true."

"Drew… I don't really understand what you're saying. You know why but you don't? Can't you just… Get to the point instead of hinting at it?" May replied softly.

"Okay, I'm sorry about that. I'm _really_ sorry."

"Will you just stop saying sorry?" May nudged him in the ribs, laughing slightly.

"Sorry."

May looked at him, her eyebrows raised.

Drew smirked at her and then his face went serious again. "Okay, well… I don't know how to say this… It's… hard." Drew looked away, his face bitter..

"It's okay, go on."

"It's just that… I've been confused about… you."

"In what way?"

"I mean… how I feel about you. You're my rival, you're my friend… but there's always been…always been something more."

Is he blushing? May couldn't help but smile slightly.

"Well I was being all mean to you because well, I think…" he broke off, not quite able to say what he was going to say.

"Yes?" May prompted.

"… I think I'm in love with you May."

May's heart starting racing a thousand miles per minute. Drew quickly started talking again.

"So I didn't know what to do…Should I tell you or not tell you? I thought that it would be embarrassing if you knew so I think I started being mean to you because I didn't want you to get any idea of how I felt about you. How I _do_ feel about you." Drew looked May in the eyes, and then quickly looked away.

"Oh, Drew…"

"Don't let it get to your head," he mocked, a trace of his usual arrogance coming through. The grin slid off his face as he forced himself to be serious again. "It's… It's okay. If you don't feel the same, I mean…"

"Drew… I think…" May didn't know what to say, or how to say it. She was blown away. After all this time, it was because he liked her? How could she have been so stupid? It was obvious, the more she thought about it. Though, it was very childish of him.

"May, it's okay. I'm really sorry for how I acted, and I know that it was the completely wrong way to go about things. I just hope that this won't get in the way of us being rivals and friends. So… deal?" he held out his hand for her to shake.

Instead, of shaking it, she took it with her hand and laced her fingers through his. A shiver ran up and down her body and her heart accelerated the moment their skin made contact. She brought their intertwined hands between them and they both looked down at them.

"I love you too, Drew. I think I really do, and I always have."

"You… do?" He looked back into her cerulean eyes, seeing nothing but the truth.

"Yes, Drew, I do."

He smiled at her and she smiled back. They stared at each other for a long time.

He took his hand away from hers and her heart dropped a little. It was so nice, the feel of his hand on hers. She expected him to get up and announce they should return to the party, but she was surprised when she felt his arm slip around her waist. She tentatively leaned in and rested her head on his shoulder. It felt perfect, as if it belonged there. His hand was warm and comforting on her waist.

"I still need to get you a birthday present." He said to her.

"No you don't, silly, you got me a rose."

"That was nothing. You know I always do the rose thing."

"Yeah but it was still nice."

"Don't kid me."

"Okay, fine, I won't. It was simple, boring, and not special. There." She smirked.

"Kind of like you," Drew teased. But he squeezed her waist and she could tell he was joking.

"Actually, I lied. It was special. All of your roses are special. It's so… you."

"Thanks?" He snorted as he smiled down on her.

"You're very welcome."

"I'm still getting you a proper present, you know."

"You don't have to."

"Yes, I do."

"This is good enough for me."

"What is?"

"You putting away mean Drew and being nice Drew."

"I won't ever bring mean Drew again, I promise."

"Don't make promises you know you can't keep."

"Fine. But I'll promise you one thing now that I _can _keep."

"Okay, we'll see about that."

"I'll give you a very extra special birthday present in the next ten seconds."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

He leaned in and kissed her.


	6. The Birthday he Drew

_The last chapter! _

_This chapter will be kind of short... I just needed to give the story a good ending. I don't know how good I am at endings, since I've never finished a fanfic before. So please bear with me :P_

_Also, I apologize for making Drew so OOC at the end of the last chapter… I just couldn't help myself. xD_

_Once again, thank you all SOOO much for the reviews. They literally make my day!! So please tell me what you think of the completed story! :] :]_

_But I promise, this won't be the end of my contestshipping stories. I adore May and Drew, so there will be more to come, eventually! Though, school's coming soon, so I'll be really busy… I don't' know how much time I'll have to write. _

_Anyway…_

_Enjoy the last chapter of _The Birthday he Drew_._

_Thanks for reading!_

_* * * * *_

_  
_They walked back into the hall.

May was absolutely glowing. She couldn't hide her smile. Every time she looked at him or thought about their kiss, she felt something inside of her she had never felt before. It was the most wonderful feeling, yet it was accompanied by a twinge of worry. Will it last? Will I get hurt again?

But these feelings could be wiped away in a second just by a squeeze from Drew's hand in hers.

"Whoa! Are you guys like, going out or something?"

May blushed bright red as she was snapped back to reality from her replaying the scene in the field in her head. She looked up into Ash's astonished face, which was looking from May's face to her and Drew's intertwined hands to Drew's face.

She heard someone whisper in the back of the room, "So _that's _where May's been gone all this time!"

Drew dropped her hand and shrugged nonchalantly. "Why would I want to go out with this loser?"

May was about open her mouth to retaliate angrily, when Drew smirked, flipped his hair and then put his arm around her waist.

"Still the same old Drew," May whispered in his hear. She adored the sweet, honest side of him, but she was pretty sure she liked the sarcastic, slightly frustrating Drew better than anything. He would always be a challenge, and that's how she liked it. Just… not like he was earlier that night. That was over the top, and he knew it too.

"Uh…" Ash looked around confusedly.

"Pikaaa, pika pi!" Pikachu laughed from Ash's shoulder.

Brock smiled a knowing smile from behind Ash. Beside him, Solidad laughed and winked at May. Harley gushed, "My sweet little buttercup's all grown up now!", while Dawn just looked utterly perplexed.

Slowly, the crowd got used to the idea and the party resumed. Meena walked up to the couple and said, "Hey Drew, would you excuse us for a minute?"

"Whatever." With a flip of his hair, he walked away, not quite knowing where to go. He didn't want to be teased or interrogated. So instead, he sidled quietly into a table, where he released his Roserade and Flygon for company. Solidad immediately rushed over to him. Great…

"So, is he good?" Meena winked at May.

"Is he- what?" May was flustered.

"You know what I'm talking about."

"No, I don't actually." May said somewhat honestly. "You could mean a lot of things."

"I was talking about him kissing you, you dummy!"

"Oh…" Biting her lip, May looked away.

"Sooo? Details, girl!" Meena hit May's arm playfully.

"That's my personal business. Besides, how do you even know we kissed?" May would always be confused about how Meena knew everything. Then again, she is a psychic type trainer, May reminded herself. But still…

"I know everything," Meena concluded.

"Then why would you ask me for details if you know everything?"

"Because it's fun bugging you and seeing the look on your face."

"Oh, well…" May blushed again. "He was… it was… nice," she finished lamely.

"Mhmm…" Meena pressed.

"Okay, it was… amazing!" May giggled like a little girl. She couldn't help herself. Meena laughed along with May.

May felt a hand sneak along her waist and the voice she'd love forever say, "So, are you two going to squeal like Skitty for the rest of the night or can I have my girl back now?"

_My_ girl. He had said, _my_ girl. May's heart fluttered.

"You can have your girl back. I'll see you two Luvdiscs later." Meena smirked and walked away.

"Meena!" May yelled, half amused, half angry at her friend. Meena just ignored her and starting chatting with Dawn.

May glanced at Drew as she put her arm around her shoulders. Was he blushing?

"Are you blushing?" she teased. "Is famous, tough, sarcastic coordinator Drew blushing?"

"Don't get your hopes up." Drew said, being Drew.

May just smiled. "It's your fault if they are."

"Oh? And why is that?"

"_You_ kissed me."

"Yeah, so _you_ kissed me back."

"How is that even a comeback?"

Drew shrugged, nonchalant. "It just is."

"Okay." And she kissed him. And he kissed her back.

May looked into the emerald eyes of the boy who had caused her so much pain, frustration, anger, sadness and tears. In the end, he had brought her happiness, which is what mattered the most. Yes, he would make mean remarks again, and yes, they would fight again, but May knew that's just how it is. And, it was worth it.

In one day, her Birthday, she had come so far. She went from feeling forgotten to feeling loved. She had just begun the years of her life that are said to be some of the hardest. She had taken her first step onto the emotional rollercoaster that was sure to be her teenager years. But thankfully, she had learned that you don't have to be alone. She had someone who would be there for her no matter what, even though sometimes –correction- lots of the time he would be the reason the rollercoaster was on its low. But in this one special day, she learned that behind it all, he always would love her.

That was the Birthday he Drew.


End file.
